Today I welcomed the opportunity to be part of the One Billion Rising Campaign and make a stand to end violence against women and girls.

As thousands of campaigners across Britain come together at 150 different events, MPs debated a motion calling on the Government to make relationship education a requirement in schools. Activists in the UK will be joining a worldwide movement in almost 200 other countries to call for renewed efforts to end violence against women.

I have campaigned to end violence against women all my political life. I cannot believe that the death toll remains so high. Last year 109 women died as a result of domestic violence. With one in three girls aged 13-17 in relationships saying they have experienced physical or sexual violence, the future looks grim.

That is why I am backing the One Billion Rising campaign by supporting the call to make a zero tolerance approach to violence in relationships part of the school curriculum.